Knock on Wood
by Fight Milk
Summary: A story about an introverted woman who tries to adjust to the environment around her in the absolutely ridiculous ninja world and finds love, friendship and hardship along the way. Slow burn and experimenting. M for violence, language and later adult themes. Yamato x OC
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto.

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The first thing Ashley noticed when she came to was how chapped her lips were. Then she noticed how dry her throat was. Clearing her throat and swallowing hard, she slowly started to open her eyes. If the scratchiness to her voice when she coughed wasn't terrible enough, surely her pounding head would be the main culprit of her woes. She felt like she was hung-over, which shouldn't have been the case since she rarely drinks. And it's highly doubtful that she would even feel this way if she did drink a couple of beers anyhow.

When she scanned the area, she tried not to move her head so much in fear of unwanted dizziness and wooziness. What she saw, however, confused her and awed her at the same time. She could feel that she was propped up against a tree, for sure, and determined it to have a large trunk, just as the other trees in the clearing. The leaves of the trees were so deeply green and the trunks were a more muted green but also striking. Nevertheless, this was a peculiar sight to see. She was from California, a western state of the US; she was used to seeing beauty in nature and lived for it. But these trees were different from any she had seen and they felt more alive, almost as if they were quietly swaying and singing with the earth below them. The air was also light and hearty and full of life itself; birds chirping, foliage swaying in the wind and the sounds of river water splashing in the distance. She has never been someplace so quiet yet so loud all at once.

This felt wrong. She should be more grounded. _Weighted._

She knew that she wasn't supposed to be here and in this dreary state. It didn't make any sense but she couldn't for the life of her remember what she was doing before she appeared here. Was she visiting the river town near the coast? The redwoods? Was she even out today? Yesterday?

 _What day is it?_

"Fuck."

Ashley started up slowly while supporting herself with her hand on the tree trunk she happened to be resting on. She didn't have her bag on her either, which was a little disconcerting. Maybe she was mugged and tossed aside? She felt along her body trying to scan for any wounds and she determined that she was fine-not even a scratch. But with no phone and no cash she started to panic.

Scanning the area again she decided it was time to find people. She needed some water stat. And if she was lucky enough someone could feed her.

She stood up straight and began walking. Her steps seemed unnecessarily heavy and slow and then she reminded herself that she was fatigued. She had made it a little past the middle of the clearing when she felt herself trip. Just before she fell on her face she extended her arm in front of her to soften the blow, scrunched up her face and shut her eyes in preparation of impact.

But she never fell.

She opened her eyes and saw the strangest thing yet- her hand had transformed into a tree branch that seemed to also be connected to the ground. A mother fucking tree branch!

She quickly pulled her arm back in attempt to undo whatever the hell had just been done and she succeeded. She could feel the bark of the branch quickly smoothing out and retracting back into her hand. Lifting her right hand close into view she stared wide-eyed and frowned.

"What?" She was trembling. She had to be dreaming. This didn't just happen every day. Perhaps she was much more dehydrated than she thought. Maybe she was drugged and was hallucinating.

"This isn't good. I need to get help," she said, trying to calm herself down. Her head was swimming as she tried to balance herself again. She started making her way to the edge of the clearing with too much effort. _'Great_ ,' she thought, ' _I'm a geriatric twenty-six year-old_.' She spotted a perfectly long and thick branch not too far away and decided to retrieve it to use as a support.

A little ways deeper into the forest she heard the familiar trickle of the stream she heard earlier and decided to make her way towards it. Water. Good ol' liquid gold. Eventually, she found the small stream and knelt down to rinse her face off. She couldn't deny that it was a little more refreshing than she thought it would be but she didn't want to risk drinking it in fear of it not being clean enough to consume.

She knew that without some kind of filtration that she was shit out of luck. She could boil the water but not only did she lack the proper tools to do so, she also had to let the water cool enough and that would probably take longer than she would want. She was mentally kicking herself for not being more knowledgeable in the ways of survival but there was nothing she could do about that at this point. Sighing to herself she looked down at the stream again.

Even if the cons outweighed the pros she found it very tempting. The stream itself looked clearer than she had ever seen a river. She was up to date on her vaccines and had been in outstanding health prior to waking up in this deluded state. "One sip wouldn't hurt."

She extended her cupped hands out into the river and closed her eyes when she brought them back up to her face. As she started to gulp down the water she noticed that she indulged just a little more than she intended and opened her eyes.

Her hands were in the shape of a wooden bowl now. A wooden fucking bowl!

Ashley jumped back, startled at what she saw, but she ended up landing on her butt and hands just fine.

With a shaky breath she brought her hands back up to her face now and saw that they were fine. All ten digits and no wood or any other god damn thing. Just her regular olive skin tone and fully functioning hands.

No. _No._ "No!"

This must be a dream or some kind of trip. But she hoped it wasn't the latter because she never partook in any sort of recreational drug. Mostly pain killers, and even that was rare for her to do. She hoped it was a dream then. Or even a nightmare. She can wake up from those eventually.

Looking around again, everything seemed to be in place, granted she had no idea where she was-everything did look natural. Tucking her long dark-brown strands behind her ears, she took a deep breath and then exhaled. Her hazel eyes darted back to her hands again with curiosity.

Where did this power come from? It seemed so far that it was involuntary. She hadn't thought to create an object in front of her to keep her from falling or holding a wooden bowl of sorts to drink from. If she consciously thought to do something with her hands, could she? She decided to humor herself and experiment.

"But _what?_ "

That was the real question. What could she do in this moment that could help her in this awful situation? She still needed to find civilization and desperately needed to get some help. However little water she had before did help a bit but it wouldn't get her very far at all. She decided then to make some sort of jug, almost like a beer growler, to hold some water to help her get along.

Crouching, she held her hands out to the earth and concentrated on the spot in front of her. Nothing seemed to happen as Ashley struggled to make a jug appear out of thin air. Frustrated, she closed her eyes and touched the ground with her palms flat. Why couldn't she do this now? Was this truly an involuntary reaction or was her mind playing games with her?

Growling and clenching her teeth, she tried so hard to focus. She didn't like being toyed with and right now her patience was running thin. "God dammit!" With one fluid motion she swung her arms up in defeat and immediately saw a sprout growing from right underneath where her hands rested before. She got a grip of herself and touched the growing branch. It was oddly chilled and it felt as though it was humming. Vibrating while it grew. She knew now that this couldn't have been a hallucination. This was real, this was happening.

She felt it some more and concentrated on possibly shaping it. Her hands carefully sculpted the wood as it molded to her touch. Smiling triumphantly to herself, Ashley twisted the growth successfully to form a container. The base of the container was stuck to a root but she yanked it off with ease. She inspected her creation and noticed the jug was satisfyingly smooth, as if it was professionally cured. She thumbed the outer rim of the opening and then started to shape a cork for it.

"Well, that was pretty cool," she said smugly. She then got up with a little pep in her step and walked over to the river to scoop up some water. After plugging the top of the bottle she shaped the wood again to form a handle. Holding the bottle up she smiled again. This jug would add weight for her to carry, sure, but she felt a little less tired from when she awoke and was in higher spirits. She felt like a superhero of sorts. An average-looking woman who can sprout wood. That would surely make ticket sales.

Looking back at the river she knew that she still had to get out of the sticks, no matter how fun her tree sculpting was. "Right." She picked up her walking stick and began walking alongside the river, hoping it would lead to a house or a town.

Walking with her stick in hand, she felt she was making some good progress after a while. A little stumbling over shrubbery and roots here and there, she was pushing herself. She could be resilient when she needed to.

Sweat started beading on her brow and she wiped it away with her hands then proceed to wipe her sweaty hands on her khakis. "Ugh. Gonna need a shower, too." She hated having her clothes dirty. Same goes for herself. Oily, sweaty skin was not comfortable. She reminded herself that while appearances matter to some degree, she would just have to tough it out for now.

Suddenly, she heard some rustling to her right in the foliage. The noise, however, didn't sound like it was made from a smaller animal-it was definitely something sizeable. Ashley gripped her walking stick closer and held it in front of her defensively. She was wide-eyed and cautious and she figured that she was not in the best situation if there was going to be confrontation.

"Is someone there? Hello!"

She stood frozen for a while and thought to grip her jug in a defensive manner as well. Fighting back the urge to run she decided to stand her ground, "I said helloooo!" There was no answer but the rustling came closer to her in the thick foliage. She squinted and listened with a little more concentration. The steps that were coming toward her sounded like a shoe crunching on some leaves. She still remained in a defensive stance just in case. "Hey, if you can hear me. I need some help. I'm lost."

Unexpectedly, a small boy made his way into her view. He was holding a small weaved basket with some herbs and his clothes seemed odd to say the least. He was wearing a loose, patterned shirt with some shorts and some god-awful looking sandals. He seemed to be fixated on her with a curious look in his eyes. He was either staring at her tank top and khakis or her tattooed arm or everything really. Suddenly she felt a little self-conscious and crossed her arms. She thought she looked normal enough, well, at least compared to him. She was not one for many words and she wasn't the most graceful thing out there but she tried to appear decent enough. She was wondering if the kid had picked out his outfit himself. Deciding that her survival was more important at the moment she pushed off all of the awkward thoughts of fashion aside.

"Do you live around here? Could you please help me?" He didn't seem to respond to that in a way she had hoped and instead replied in a foreign language. Ashley squinted and bent over a little. She hadn't heard anything like this before. The boy gave her a short response but his vowels seemed to conjunct into each other. She did know how most well-known languages sounded like-it was a perk of living in a diverse state. She had to admit she was not happy with this situation, however. The language gap was certainly a problem.

The boy then said something else to her. It seemed like a question. "I'm sorry. I don't understand you," she said while taking a step toward him and gesturing her hand away from herself. She frowned then and slumped her shoulders. Just great. Where the hell am I?

The boy walked closer to her and grimaced. She can now see he had wavy, dark blue hair and yellow eyes? Weird. Contacts? That would be a stretch for a six-year old to take. She eyed him curiously and smiled when he smiled at her. To her, he spoke some more gibberish and proceeded to point to himself.

"Yosuke."

"Yuhs-what?" The word seemed foreign on her tongue. He chuckled at her and moved closer.

He pointed to himself again. "Yosuke." Then he pointed to her and raised his eyebrows.

 _"Ohhhhhh,"_ she responded, understanding he was most likely introducing himself. Clever kid. She pointed to herself, "Ashley."

"Ohhhhhh-Ash- Ashl… Lee." Ashley chuckled at the 'ohhhhhh' part and shook her head. He was having trouble pronouncing her name as well it seemed.

Ashley pointed at him again _"Yo,"_ she said and pointed to herself, _"Ash."_ Short consonants seemed simple enough for anyone to pronounce so she went with that. She was relieved when he looked up at her with a big smile and bowed. She slightly mirrored his bow and gave him a questioning gaze. What's next?

He spoke to her again but this time held out his hand. Ashley glanced at it and then back at her walking stick. She reluctantly took his hand and he supported her a little, leading the way through the thick shrubs and grass in the forest. She could only hope that he knew where he was going. Hopefully, she would get some rest soon and some fresh water. Maybe a good meal, too?

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This is my first Naruto fanfiction work. Please feel free to leave a review. It'll be nice to know how I'm doing with this.

I will try to update as much as I can. Hopefully, weekly if all goes well! =)


	2. Chapter 2

So sorry for the late update! Life and work have been very demanding lately. As I've said, I'll try to update this as much as possible. Thankfully, I have this one out just right after Yamato's birthday. Yay! :,)

A few things to note when reading this: When a character speaks or refers to something in **English** , the words are **bold** just to differentiate dialogue. ' _Thoughts'/_ internal dialogue are _italic_ (same for emphasized words in dialogue). Normal dialogue, is well, normal. This format is tough to write but necessary for the way I will have this story go. Also, the beginning of the story is going to be rather descriptive. Or as descriptive as I can get without rambling too much.

I've made this chapter a little longer in hopes to make up for the weeks I didn't get to post. Again, sorry about that. Without further inerruption, enjoy!

I do not own Naruto.

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"Yo. Take white… flower?"

"Yes. Pick the white chamomile flower!"

"Pick kamo-mill."

"Good job, Ash! Yes."

She gently picked the white buds from chamomile plants as instructed by Yo to prepare for herbal tea when they got back to his home. Mao, his grandmother, was expecting this task to be done by mid-afternoon.

After discovering that Ashley was a foreigner with no inclination of where she came from and where she was and with no knowledge of their language or culture, Mao decided to help Ashley out by taking her under her wing. Ashley spent grueling hours and many days trying to communicate with Mao and Yo at first by drawing pictures and having them interpret. She was thankful for her acceptable drawing talent at least, even if she never professionally got into illustration. Never would Ashley think that she would be learning a new language in a foreign land involuntarily, but crazy things have happened she supposed. Well, the craziest part being that she is now in a completely different world it seemed.

She was bewildered to know how and why she suddenly appeared in this world and wondered if it was even possible to return home. No matter how terrifying the whole ordeal was she needed to adapt and survive in the environment that she's now stuck with.

In the few weeks that she had known the two she was extremely grateful for their hospitality. Back where she was from it's extremely rare to find people so willing to help with such a strange circumstance. But she also realized that ways in these lands were more simple, or rather the people seemed more open-minded and willing to lend a hand. They seemed to live more of the country or rural lifestyle as well. It felt peaceful to her.

She learned that their home was nearing the outskirts of the Tea Country, which bordered the great Fire Country to the North. These lands, she knew, were nowhere on earth. To her discomfort she had also learned very shortly that these territories had been governed and policed mainly by shinobi, or ninja. But not like the Bruce Lee types- more like superhuman beings that could apparently also produce supernatural elements like lightning and fire supposedly out of nowhere, according to Yo. More like Dragonball characters. Or knight enchanters. Knowing this information, she decided to keep her "tree-bending" abilities hush-hush and would trail off from Yo or Mao if she felt like experimenting again; She didn't want to attract any unwanted attention from the wrong crowd, even if she felt like entertaining a hyperactive Yo on some days. She had no merit for fighting or a care for such things unless she had to and she certainly didn't have a death wish from superhuman people any time soon. She was content, for now, with accompanying Yo with his chore, even if it was painstakingly hard to communicate at times.

"Okay, Ash. I think we have enough for tea. We should get going before Gramao gets upset."

Ashley nodded and chuckled at Yo's nickname he gave his grandmother; she thought it was sweet.

"You want me to carry baskhet?" Ash offered, pointing to his weaved basket.

"No, thanks. I've got this," he smiled and then puffed out his chest. "Besides, I've got to start training hard if I want to be a ninja!"

"Tuff. If you say." Ashley rolled her eyes and smirked at his enthusiasm. There aren't any active policing shinobi in the Land of Tea to her knowledge but usually shinobi that have been contracted out to help from different countries. If Yo did have the capability would it even be possible for him to become a shinobi? Would he have to be a citizen of a country that has these ninja? These laws for now were too much for her to become accustomed to. For now, sticking with learning the language and the culture seemed to be the best option for her.

"I know Gramao doesn't really like the idea but I think I would be an awesome ninja."

Ashley looked back at him as they were walking and tried really hard not to frown. Since when was it popular amongst youth to want to willingly join the military? Perhaps their family had been serving as ninja? She thought about that a lot while staying with them but didn't want to ask such personal questions. She knew that Yo's parents weren't in the picture either but didn't want to assume the worst. But if Mao was so strongly against Yo wanting to be a shinobi then that should mean something.

"Well, what do you think?"

She looked at him again and tried to put on a convincing smile. "Not easy to say… Hard werk. You are a child, Yo." As soon as those words left her mouth she saw Yo frown and stop in his tracks. She wished she didn't have such a hard time with finding the right words but she had to improvise for now. Instead she put her hand up in protest. "Hard werk, Yo. Yes. But if you buhlieve in you, you can do it. Is poss-uhble." She was trying so hard not to mentally kick herself for her selected words that could be just as easily said by a toddler but she brushed past that. Learning a new language was never simple, especially when there was no one Ashley could communicate with in her native English.

Yo looked up and smiled sweetly at her, "Yes! You're right about that. That's why I need to carry my own weight," he agreed, hugging his heavy basket to his chest, "I have to work hard!"

"Work hard. Help Grah-Mao. Be good," she replied. He smiled up at her again and gained a pep in his step, bobbing his wild blue hair while he walked. Ashley could never get over his appearance. It was so outlandish but somehow, here, it was common occurrence. Perhaps it was just the style of the locals she had seen.

In comparison to the people she's come in contact with so far she wouldn't necessarily say that she paled in comparison as far as her looks go but she felt a little like an outcast with her "natural" appearance. It goes without saying, however, that she felt like she was the odd one out with being a foreigner as well. She noticed a lot of the women she met or seen were mostly really slender. Ashley was not overweight but she did have a fuller figure to her that gave people something nice to look at as she walked past. She would probably best describe herself as being grounded or sturdy compared to most of the women she's seen. However, being more introverted and happy to be out of the spotlight, she found this to be a little uncomfortable. She wasn't used to the attention but she supposed it couldn't be helped and there were no unwanted advances so far so she was at ease. At least by sticking close to Yo or Mao people could assume she was too busy with company to approach. She preferred it that way. Besides, at the current moment she's not the greatest conversationalist, even if she had never been one to begin with. That's something that will just have to take time. For now, that is okay with her.

Glancing down at her own basket, Ashley felt a pang of guilt. While she was utterly grateful for everything Mao and Yo had done for her she didn't feel comfortable being dependent. Doing these random tasks for Mao was easy to do and it gave her a chance to socialize and get used to her surroundings but never being one to rely on anyone but herself, she felt bad for taking up precious resources from a kind old lady. She figured she would need to look for a job soon to help out with expenses.

Yo couldn't help but notice the concern that was clearly showing through Ashley's usual unfazed expression.

"Ash, what's wrong? Do you miss your home?"

She looked down at him again but couldn't really comment on his last question. She didn't know how she felt about that subject. For one, she hadn't exactly had anything going for her as far as advancing in her work. Her family wasn't the type to keep in touch with or on speaking terms with her either, unfortunately. She also hadn't really thought much about her previous residence since she hadn't exactly been happy. Content, sure, but she felt as if she was going nowhere. She dated here and there, made a few friends and even held a few jobs to get her by but life always seemed so stagnant. She thought that maybe, this was her second chance at life? A do-over would be something she would be open to and the first step would be for her to be productive.

"I want to help."

"What?" Yo gave her a sheepish look, "You're already helping, silly. And you're really strong. Your basket is twice the size of mine! You would make a good ninja, too!"

She snorted. "No. I do not want… to fight. I don't like that. I need to work, Yo… Help grandmother. And later be myself maybe. Independuhnt."

"Well," he scratched at his temple, "I don't know many people in town who are looking for help. Maybe we can contact the Daimyo to see what he can do."

Ashley remembered their encounter with the Daimyo of the village. Mao had contacted him shortly after finding her to tell him of the situation. He seemed like a good man, pleasant, but he apparently has bigger problems to worry about than to help a disoriented foreigner. He did let Mao know, however, that he would eventually be looking into the situation and would help out the best he could. Since weeks had passed since that encounter she started to think that he didn't take the situation seriously enough as he said. Still, she remained hopeful. Hopeful that she could get some answers as to why she's here in the first place.

"Day-mo. We did talk to him."

"Yeah, you're right. He looked busy though. Maybe we could try again? Everyone says he's really nice and helpful. He's our leader. He should be able to do something."

Nodding at his optimism, all she could do is hope for the best. Looking for work, however, was going to be tough enough though. Not many people would want to hire someone they can't easily communicate with. She supposed she would have to get creative.

Adjusting the basket in front of her from the strain of the awkwardly shaped handles, she looked ahead to see Mao's home in view. She always thought it was quaint. Simple but really lovely being surrounded by her gardens off to the side and the wooden steps and shrubbery leading up to her porch.

"C'mon, Ash! It smells like Gramao has been busy in the kitchen. Lunch time!" Yo quickened his paced, "I'll race you to the door."

She deadpanned at him. Running was definitely not on her list of fun things to do but she liked seeing Yo in a happy mood. She could challenge him as a reward for his patience and helpfulness with teaching her his language.

"Okay. One thing."

"What is it?" He stopped.

"If I win, I get…"

"Oh! You want to make a bet. Okay," he seemed to perk up at that.

"Yes. Beht. I win, I get your chock-let." She's always had a sweet tooth.

"What!? I just got that from town!" He huffed but scratched his temple in contemplation. "Okay, fine. Buuuut, if I win… then…" He seemed to be thinking really hard about his side of the bet, which made Ashley snort. But then again, kids could make tall demands.

"Yes! If I win," he smirked up at her, "You have to do the rest of my chores tonight."

" **Jesus Christ almighty,"** she blurted out in English. Chocolate must be a commodity here. This was a hard bargain, but do-able. "Okaaaaaay."

"What does _that_ mean?" Yo narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you swearing, Ash?"

"Meee? Nooo," she teased in a sing-song tone. He shrugged at her and stifled a chuckle.

"Fine then. Well, are you ready? I'll count to ten."

Nodding at him she readied herself and heaved the basket over her shoulder. She glanced down at him and squinted, putting on her best competitive face. He mimicked her and glared back.

"One." She shifted her feet. "Two." Yo lowered himself to get ready to spring forward.

"TEN!"

Ashley was taken aback by this and extremely annoyed once she realized what happened. **"Little brat!"** Yo had sprung forward as quickly as he could with his little legs. Ashley was planning on letting him win in the first place but she couldn't let herself lose to a cheater. "No fair!"

"Ahaha! Life isn't fair!"

" **Oh my god."** She pushed herself to run even faster. He's now even getting wise with her. _Cocky little kid_. As soon as Ashley caught up with him he looked spooked but did his best to keep his pace. Looking ahead she noticed that the front door was open. This would be the perfect opportunity for her to show off and rub her victory in his face with a little spin move on the hardwood floors of the living room. She smirked and looked down at him as she passed, basket in tow.

As she was laughing at the close, sweet victory to come she looked back to Yo with the toothiest grin she could bare. "Choooock-laaaate~" In response, Yo growled but quickly slowed down and had a shocked look on his face.

"Ash! Wait! There's someone there!"

"Ha!" She knew better than to be tricked again.

Just before she reached the door she turned ahead and saw a man appear in the doorway from inside the house. Unfortunately, she was too slow to halt but she was quick enough to put her arms out to help her soften the blow. Before she could stumble into the person she was stopped by her arms that were now being held firmly in place.

She regained her composure and looked up at him. His eyes stuck out to her right away. They were big and such a dark shade of brown, almost black. She stared at them for a second, admiring them. His eyes were tired but they seemed kind and strong. Indulging herself even more, she quickly scanned the rest of his face, which she admitted to herself, held handsome features. Strong jaw and cheekbones, thick lips and noble brows. She could also tell that he wasn't a particularly tall man, average height-though taller than her by a few inches or so, but he was still big enough to be intimidating. She then looked at the faceplate he wore, which oddly suited his features. There was a symbol on it. One she recognized as being a symbol of the Fire Country that Mao and Yo spoke of. This meant that this man was a ninja. Not good. Snapping herself back into reality she backed up from the man and tried to avert her gaze from him.

"Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" She backed up and put her hands slightly up in embarrassment. He lifted his brows at Ashley and flashed a crooked smile at her for a moment as if he was silently teasing her but he regained his stoic composure once he saw the child approach them.

"Ash! I told you to watch out. You need to be more careful." Yo quickly came to Ashley's side. Great. Now she was being scolded by a child. She mentally rolled her eyes. "Oh! You're a ninja! That's so cool!" Yo started to look the man up and down and spewed all sorts of questions that Ashley couldn't really keep track of with his mouth going a hundred miles a minute. The man seemed to be unfazed by Yo's excitement and looked in Ashley's direction again.

"I'm Yamato of the Hidden Leaf. You must be the foreign woman in question." He introduced himself with such a smooth voice that would usually make Ashley swoon under different circumstances but she tried to push those thoughts aside and get serious.

"Ashley." She replied and extended her hand for him to shake it. "Nice to meet you." She straightened up and tried to mimic his somewhat serious tone. He looked at her hand for a moment before cautiously obliging with his own firm grip. Ashley had to remind herself that most of the people here generally bowed when greeting one another. She tried not to blush again in embarrassment.

"Ashley." He tried her name out on his tongue. She was happy he could pronounce it correctly on the first try. "Do you understand me?" Ashley nodded slowly in confirmation and looked back up at him, slightly smiling. "Great. Let's get on with business then. I, along with my colleagues, have a few questions for you. Let's discuss this inside with Mao." He moved aside to let her and Yo in, watching her closely. His gaze made her stiffen up a little but she knew she had nothing to fear as long as she was being truthful. Well, hopefully.

Ashley hadn't expected the Daimyo to hold his word on helping her so she was caught off-guard with this whole situation now. As long as she cooperated she should be fine, hopefully.

And to think all she wanted at that moment was a small piece of chocolate. _This is going to be a long evening._


	3. Chapter 3

First off, thank you to those who have reviewed, followed and liked! I'm happy to know that this story is going well. Really lifts my spirits, please keep at it =)

And as usual, just a reminder to everyone that I will most definitely try to update as much as I can but I cannot commit to certain update times. Most of this requires some research on my part and I do need to have a good break here and there to keep me on my toes.

Also, just for the sake of getting this chapter out for you all I will edit later if I do find any mistakes or feel like updating anything. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Usual disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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For what seemed like an eternity, Ashley sat, cross legged and back aching, trying to gather all the left-over patience that she possessed to get through this whole interview process. The man named Yamato, along with his three comrades, were relentless in their efforts to gather as much information as possible. After their introduction she learned that the other three were named Naruto, Sakura and Sai. There was enough of an age difference between those three and Yamato to lead Ashley to believe that he may have been their squad leader since he seemed to be in his late twenties and they were most likely in their late teens. Baby faces. Yamato seemed to be running the show, anyhow. Sakura would interject from time to time to ask questions in a way that was dumbed down for Ashley to understand, which was helpful but made her feel like a burden, or simple-minded. She knew she was being hard on herself but she's always been able to at least speak coherently and properly to people before this whole incident.

Similar to her first explanations to Mao she aided herself with drawings for words she couldn't describe, which proved to be somewhat helpful for her and the four shinobi. The one named Sai would also help illustrate or draw to help explain as well, which Ashley appreciated greatly. Musing to herself, she decided that if Pictionary were to exist in this world that he would be the best partner to have. He drew with a more eastern style to his doodles, while Ashley had her more western feel to hers. This seemed to pique their interest. She noticed that Sai wasn't much for words with his stoic composure, but she wasn't either at the moment, which was all good in her book. She also noticed that Sakura or Naruto would glance over at him whenever he would comment on something.

Throughout this whole exchange Naruto didn't really ask her any necessary questions but either would blurt out a remark or two in a whooping voice or scratch at his head when he was confused with what Ashley would reply, which was often. She thought he was charming in his own way. Boisterous but affable. She also appreciated that he hadn't thrown in as much input as the others because it saved her having to exhaust her voice and critical thinking. Sakura and Yamato, on the other hand, made up for his efforts.

Every so often Mao and Yo would come into the living room with snacks and tea that Ashley and Yo both picked the herbs for. The tea was delicious to Ashley but it also had relaxing properties which made her even less glib than usual. She tried her hardest to snap herself back into her perky mode by shifting herself every now and again which also helped relieve some tension that was built up in her knees.

Turning her attention back towards the four, she tried to look determined but the tiredness was apparent in her eyes. They were eyeing each other and then Ashley while whispering incoherent sentences which, in her opinion, was moot since she didn't understand most of the advanced vocabulary they spoke. In her response to that she let out a sigh of annoyance. While she understood they had a job to do she just couldn't believe that this "interview" would take as long as it would. She also thought that their whispering to each other was somewhat comical at times and not very professional but that took the edge off of the intensity of the situation. They, of course, have gone over obvious questions such as: "How did you get here?" "What happened when you appeared in the forest?" "Do you remember being attacked?" "Where are you from?"

The ladder was the question that they seemed to be stuck on. "America" seemed to be nowhere in their vocabulary. Neither was "California" or "taco". It was funny up to some point to her; hearing them pronounce her language but at this point she was exhausted. This was a one-sided conversation, she knew, but she did know where they came from and why they were there. It was good enough for her and despite her need to occasionally throw in some sarcastic humor she wasn't going to try to throw off any military personnel. Ashley could be a smart-ass but there's a time and place for everything.

Mao came back into the room with a few trays of food that she prepared for the late lunch that they were having and set the plates on the lowered table in front of everyone. As much as Ashley loved her curry she just wasn't in the mood for a meal. An alcoholic beverage seemed more up her alley at the moment. Mao had some wine in her possession but Ashley refused to ever ask for it. She didn't want to seem like a lush.

While Naruto started chowing down the dish, the others gave their thanks before pecking at their food. Ashley stared down at a moment before looking up at Mao.

"Thank you, Mao. Not... I am not hungery."

"Oh, are you sure, honey? Well, here. Have some more tea then." As much as Ashley loved Mao's motherly nature she just wasn't feeling like having anything she was offering at the moment. Coffee, however, would be lovely. Did they have coffee here, too? She just had to find out at some point.

Ashley gave another "no thank you" and sighed in exhaustion.

"We can pick up where we left off a little later then. We have all the information we need at the moment," Yamato said while nodding at Ashley.

"Finally!" Naruto chimed in after finishing his small bowl. "I was starting to fall asleep!"

"Naruto! Don't be rude!" Sakura scolded. Ashley noted that she had a fiery nature to her. Best not to piss her off any time soon.

Sai looked over at Naruto then and smiled. "Ninja are supposed to be more alert. Falling asleep on the job is not acceptable."

"What did you say!?" Naruto boomed. Sakura tried holding him back.

"Sai, quit it! You're not helping!"

He continued to smile at Naruto and Ashley just had to wonder if it was all to get a rise out of him. This was an amusing scene to her but she again mentally noted how unprofessional they looked for being what they were.

"All of you," Yamato said in a serious tone. "This is no way to act in someone's home." Ashley focused on him a little more now. He seemed to be at his boiling point.

"He started it! The smart ass!"

Mao seemed shocked at Naruto's outburst. Ashley noted "smart ass" was derogatory. She would have to stow that information away for later.

Yamato looked over at all three of them and gave them a ghoul-like expression. Naruto and Sakura immediately tensed. "Behave yourselves. We are guests." His tone was flat but he meant some serious business. Seeing their reactions made Ashley give out a small snort and she rolled her eyes. His face didn't seem all that intimidating to her-more silly than anything-although, she didn't know him at all so that could easily change her opinion on the matter. For now, she was just happy to be out of the hot seat.

Yamato turned his gaze over toward Ashley in response. "I'm sorry. Is what I said funny to you?"

Ashley tried putting on a serious expression as well to match his face, but was failing as her mouth formed into a smirk. "Yes." Naruto looked between the two in either horror or confusion. Ashley couldn't tell. Being bold and trying to lighten the mood she looked at Yamato again, "Smart ass."

He immediately grinned ever so slightly much to Ashley's delight. She felt accomplished at her wittiness and for her moment of providing a handsome man with a bit of joy. Naruto chuckled at her but Sakura and Mao looked a little more mortified. Sai continued to look at her with a smile, seemingly unfazed.

"Ash! That is no proper way for a lady to speak!" Mao scolded and narrowed her eyes at her.

Ashley lifted her hands up, shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She tried to feign cluelessness. "I don't know your kuhntry langwich. Sorry."

"Yeah, well. You seem to know a lot more than the other one. That's for sure!" Naruto responded but immediately clasped his hands over his mouth. The rest of them glared at him.

"Other?" Other one. Was there another person in this world like her? She looked at Naruto with such intensity that he tried his best to avert his gaze. "Other… like me?"

Sakura grabbed Naruto by the collar, "Dummy! Keep your mouth shut!"

Yamato tried to divert Ashley's attention from the two by quickly adding a "thank you for your time" and "we will be back later" and "thank you again" along with a few other things that Ashley didn't care to understand. He quickly got up and walked himself and the others toward the front door, lightly shoving the three in the process.

" **Wait!** Need to know!" She quickly rose up and tried her best to tail them.

Yamato stopped in front of Ashley and looked at her seriously. "We will speak of this later tomorrow. We are staying in the area for the night and will return for your questions. Have a good rest of your day, miss Ashley." Ashley lifted her brow at the "miss". He looked over at Mao then. "Thank you for the food and for having us, Mao. We will discuss over what we have learned today and hopefully come to a conclusion on what to do tomorrow."

"Sounds good. You four be safe now!"

"Will do. Good day."

"No. Don't go!" She was adamant about getting some answers. This was definitely not fair.

"Ashley. Stay here," he frowned at her. "We will be back. You have my word."

She let up her protests then and deflated. She knew they had their reasons for withholding information, no matter how unfair it seemed. If there was another person in this world like her then she knew there was something going on. For now, she would just have to settle for doing what she did best: being patient.

"I hold you to it."

He nodded and smiled at her before once again turning back to usher the other three out of the way and in the direction of the main town. Ashley watched in defeat as the four of them argued with each other while walking down the steps from the porch.

"That was a strange bunch," Mao commented. Yo walked in towards them. Ashley figured he was eavesdropping on their conversation. "I'm sorry, Ash. Tomorrow you can finally get some answers though and hopefully you'll find out what's going on."

Yo frowned at this and held Ashley's hand. This surprised her but she turned to him and smiled sympathetically. Was she going to stay here? Leave with the four? She knew that in the short amount of time that she stayed with him that Yo had grown very attached to her. It would probably tear his heart up but if the time comes that will be something he will just have to deal with. She was determined now to find out what was going on, once and for all. She had to move forward.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"So, what's the big deal anyway? Why keep it all a secret?"

"It's called being tactful, idiot! You had one job to do and as soon as you get a mission you decide to blow it all away with your big mouth!"

"Hey! It's not my fault I've been cooped up. I know I have a big mouth, but sheesh, Sakura, I just don't see the point."

"The point is to investigate and come to conclusions later. The reasons for their appearances here are still unknown. It's wise to gather as much information as possible before jumping to conclusions, Naruto. They may seem harmless but we still don't know that."

"Yeah, I guess so. They both don't seem like a threat to me though. But I just can't imagine how lonely they must feel-not knowing anything and suddenly appearing in a world they don't understand."

Sakura looked at him with sympathy. He did have a good argument but she didn't understand the situation completely herself. When they were first assigned this mission by the Sixth Hokage Kakashi- formerly their team leader-they were to investigate a strange phenomenon happening in the forest outskirts of the Tea country as per request by the locals and ultimately the Daimyo. There were reports of foreign growth happening in the area and the people were concerned. Yamato was naturally assigned as their leader to investigate the growth to determine whether it was happenstance or coincidence. Shortly after investigating the area, the conclusion was made that the growths produced in the area were in fact foreign, or so they thought. The different sprouts just didn't look natural compared to the shrubbery and trees surrounding them. The roots of these plants were a more reddish in color and the bark was softer. They have never seen these plants before and upon finding this out the group decided to come in contact with the Daimyo again to gather more information and that is how they learned of the alien woman. While Sakura appreciated the fact that Kakashi gave them this mission to spend time with each other after the war, she was starting to think that whatever was happening was a lot more than a simple wellness check.

The other person they found appeared in Konoha almost two months ago, seemingly out of nowhere, and wandered into the main village. She was apprehended shortly after stumbling into town and taken into custody for a physical and interrogation. She went by Missa, which Sakura thought was shorter for something else. It was much easier for her to pronounce than "Ashley". But then again, she did encourage them to call her Ash, just as Mao and Yosuke did. Regardless, she didn't think the two looked threatening but she did recall that the physical Missa had did reveal some telling signs of copious amounts of chakra. Too much for a simple civilian. Sakura, and many other specialists, didn't know what to make of this information. She also seemed to grasp the language well enough, much like in Ashley's case. From the few interactions she's had with her, however, she was certain that her and Ash's native tongues were similar, if not the same. Missa didn't have the dexterity or drawing talent that helped Ash out while translating, but she more or less made up for that in her quick grasp of their language. She was definitely more of a talker than Ash seemed to be.

Thinking on the current situation, however, she just couldn't figure out what the growths in the forest and Ashley's appearance had in common. Nothing was found when Missa stumbled into the world. She supposed there would have to be further investigation into the matter to put two and two together.

"We should meet up with Captain Yamato and Sai. I think we've gathered enough information from the locals."

"Sounds good to me!"

* * *

Yamato was never one for small talk. He didn't understand the social game well enough or even wanted to understand. His job, however, required him to be either as diplomatic as possible or not in order to gain the intel he needed. Currently, he and Sai were going around town, asking the locals for more information regarding the woman named Ashley and the strange happenings of the forest. They decided to walk into a tea house which doubled as a local bar. It was a trying experience for him.

"Well, I wouldn't say I've noticed anything that stands out about her other than the fact that she's got a nice ass!"

Yamato lightly blushed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose while Sai just stood beside him, staring at the drunken man. "Let's stay on topic, sir." He should've known that coming into this establishment wasn't the best idea but he had to learn more of the situation. Or at least as much as he could.

The older man turned to Yamato with half lidded eyes and a flushed face, hiccupping. "Aww, come on. We're all men here. Don't tell me you wouldn't go for it if you had the opportunity. I mean, wow! I wish I were your age again." Yamato flushed again and averted his gaze. While he did find her attractive it was certainly no place of his to openly speak of this subject or indulge in it. He couldn't deny that he had encountered many women he thought were alluring but he was a very busy man and just didn't have the opportunity to engage in such things. He was either constantly dragged off on a mission, providing construction services, guarding the Hokage and many other things he was called upon to do. While the thought of engaging in a more serious relationship piqued his interest he felt as though he had nothing of value to offer, with being busy most days of the week, but he most certainly didn't feel the need to entertain the idea with a drunken stranger. However, as his mind wandered he found her to be intriguing. Her eyes especially. Bright and pretty, with the deepest greens and richest amber hues he's ever seen. He also didn't mind catching the coy glances she gave him from the short time they've met; he wasn't often on the receiving end of such things so it was a nice boost to his ego.

Focusing back on his task he nodded at Sai, indicating their time to start wrapping things up. Allowing his mind to wander took him away from his mission at hand and he would rather finish things up quickly and report back. "Thank you for your time. You should probably take it easy on the liquor," he said to the man and patted his shoulder before exiting the bar with Sai.

"Captain Yamato," Sai said.

"Yes, Sai?"

"I have been reading about relationships and bonding time between men. I understand it is common place to share a few alcoholic beverages with friends. Is it also socially common to talk about women's asses?"

Yamato's jaw dropped. These kids were going to be the death of him.

* * *

"Cat's game!" Yo called out.

Ashley stared at the piece of paper between them. Shortly after living with Yo and Mao she did the best she could to keep Yo busy and most of the time they spent together indoors involved some basic kid games that Ash played when she was younger. Currently they were playing Tic-Tac-Toe. Yo was a formidable opponent but there are only so many times a person can play the game before not dying of boredom. She let him win at first but mixed things up by putting in half the effort to tie with a scratch. He seemed to be catching on to this.

"Ash. You're throwing the game on purpose."

She looked at him with indifference. "Want to play sumthing… other?"

"Something _else_ ," he corrected.

"Yes. Something else," she nodded. "Hang man?" She especially liked this game because it gave her the opportunity to learn their written language, which could honestly need a lot more work on her part. The more vocabulary and practice she could get in, the better.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood. What about that game hop-scotch?"

At this point Ashley was wondering if Yo was trying to delay the inevitable with suggesting different activities to do together. They both knew that at some point she would have to leave but neither of them expected it to be so soon. Usually, after they have dinner they settle down for the night but tonight was different. She decided for now it was worth spending time with him.

"Is late. Can't go outside. Inside not good too. Break something maybe," she shrugged. She tapped her fingers on her chin, trying to think of another game they could play. She had to admit that she was never the best baby-sitter. Most of the time she would entertain her cousins or other people's children with doodles and coloring. She was more into crafts than a more physically demanding activity just because it was exhausting to keep up with physical activities with kids. Being a more cautious type, she found it stressful at times to watch other people's kids, worrying that something might go wrong. At least with arts and crafts they were in a contained area and in her comfort zone.

This had her thinking of her new-found tree or plant wielding power now. For quite a while she kept it secret from everyone she's come in contact with and that was another stressful thing to her. This made her feel heavy and detached in a way. She knew that being in the predicament that she was in didn't help at all with her situation either but day after day that she practiced in solitude it was harder for her to carry such a heavy burden. Biting her lip, she looked over to Yo who noticed her gaze.

"What's wrong? Are your knees hurting again?"

She thought it was sweet of him to be concerned with her knee issues, which were pre-existent and occasionally happening even before coming to this world but her joints were just fine for now. In fact, she felt almost stir-crazy for being confined to the house and their daily routine of walking through town and the forest and not being able to stretch out was aching her body the most. While she was a more reserved person she did like to explore and find new places.

"Knees okay," she looked at him again with uncertainty. He frowned at her expression but before he could question her she spoke to him again with a bit of strain to her voice. "Yo. I want to show you… a thing. Is screht." She put her index finger to her lips to emphasize her suggestion.

"A secret? What is it?" He looked genuinely curious now. She scanned the room to see if anyone was around to witness what she was about to do. When she assessed that the area was clear she held her hands out in front of her and looked down at Yo again.

"What is your favrit animal?" She always thought it was a good ice breaker to ask kids about such things before she drew a picture for them. She was never displeased at their reaction to her creations either.

He thought about her question for a second before looking at her hands. He seemed to be utterly confused but decided to go along with Ashley. "Well, I really think cats are cute. Fluffy cats are the best." He smiled at her.

" **Cat it is."** As her left hand was extended she placed her right over the top of it and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the design she had in mind. Yo examined her movements and soon started to see a little glow coming from between her palms. His eyes grew wide when she started to part her hands and saw a little sprout come from the palm of her left hand. She gracefully moved her fingertips around the growing bud and shaped a thick twig with her fingers. After a bit of tweaking she placed her right hand over her creation and smiled at him. She extended her hands out to him and he automatically went to accept what she was giving him. "A cat for Yo."

He opened his hands to see a tiny wooden figurine of a cat, meticulously sculpted with fine details. "Ash… this- this is…" He lifted it closer to his face to look it over with more appreciation. The wood was red in hue and felt smooth to the touch. The cat itself wasn't particularly realistic but it's style gave it character. Yo slowly smiled at her. "Thank you, Ash. But how did you do that? Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Scared," she answered with a hushed voice.

"Why are you scared? This is an amazing power! You could do great things-"

"Yo," she interrupted. "This. Where I am from. This is not… possuhble. Not… normal." She frowned slightly, hoping that he would understand what she meant.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before giving her a look. "So, where you are from you can't do these things?" She nodded in response.

"Not this. Not these… things. We can't run really fast. Can't fight…strong like ninja here. Can't jump high like them too. These things do not happen. Where I come from. Diff-rent."

"I understand." Yo looked at the little cat figure in his hands again and thumbed the grain of it. While this whole situation was nearly too much for him to really wrap his head around he did appreciate that she felt comfortable enough to confide in him. "It's okay, Ash. I won't tell anyone. You can count on me."

She smiled down at him and shuffled his blue hair before giving him a small hug. **"Thank you."**


	5. Chapter 5

Terribly sorry for the late update! But I'm back, yay! And thank you to all my reviewers, I see you =) Same for Favorites and followers, you guys are the bomb~

I have not forgotten about this story and decided to change the pace here a little. Hope you all are liking it still, no matter how slow I may be to updating things here. Enjoy!

I do not own Naruto.

* * *

It was a crisp, bright morning in the wild grove Yo and Ashley were visiting. The air was light and the birds were chirping and singing, adding to the liveliness of the forest. Ashley decided that today would be best spent picking more herbs for tea and it would be a good opportunity to stretch out her legs and get some exercise in. She also really enjoyed being out in the wilderness to witness its beauty and mystery. Growing up in a more suburban and a not so thriving neighborhood, she found wild and unclaimed lands to be freeing and easy to breathe in-she thought it was a nice escape from all the stresses of the daily working life and sometimes from people. Currently, she sat herself on a stump and relaxed her back against an adjacent tree, watching Yo skip around with another local girl whom Ashley promised days ago to watch.

She thought it was amazing-and admittedly strange-that these villagers were so eager to trust someone who had appeared in their town less than a month ago. She thought that maybe Mao had put in a good word for her or the girl's parents just didn't see Ashley as a threat. Either way, Ashley did speak to her parents before they ventured out. She was to return the girl before lunchtime. Looking back at them she mused at how cute the scene was before her. Yo was instructing the girl on which herbs to pick and which ones to avoid. He was uprooting and slicing stems with a basic knife that Ashley was borrowing from Mao to let him use for his current job. Not that there were too many dangers in terms of plants in this area, it was still so interesting for her to see how knowledgeable he was in this topic and how easy it was for him to speak to others. The girl, Hana, slightly smaller with light brown hair and black eyes, seemed genuinely interested in what Yo was doing and teaching her.

Since Ashley's been in this world she noted that life was more simple; technology wasn't as readily available as it was back home. Kids here weren't on their iPads or playing with fidget spinners. They were outside, playing and discovering the world and this brought Ashley into a nostalgic mood. She remembered when she was younger and playing with a few neighborhood kids as well as her own siblings. It was a sort of bittersweet thought she always reminisced about. Things were different before she crossed the bridge to adulthood.

Still watching over the kids she couldn't help shake away her anxiety. She was anticipating what was to come of today with the four's conclusion on what to do with her situation and she hardly had any sleep the night before. Thinking about the other person who appeared in this world gave her more hope as well. Perhaps they were from the same world. Maybe they spoke the same language? That excited her the most. While she wasn't opposed to speaking these people's native tongue to gain the vocabulary she thought it would be a nice break to just not have to think so much to be able to form simple sentences. Yo asked her about some words and phrases in English as he was curious as well but Mao seemed to not encourage his immersing into Ashley's native language, which was understandable, albeit a little hurtful in Ashley's eyes. She appreciated Mao for taking her in but damn could that woman be demanding. This didn't stop Yo, of course, from asking questions when the two were alone, but to respect Mao's wishes Ashley decided to keep things short and simple.

Turning her gaze up at the sky she stretched out her legs and rested her head on the trunk of the tree behind her. If Mao were to see her now she would probably comment on how unlady-like she was sitting. She can just hear her say "always keep your legs crossed" and "a woman's posture is her best feature". Ashley restrained herself from a much earned chortle but she didn't want to have the kids look at her in an odd way so she settled for a lazy smile. What did it matter to anyone how she sat? Especially in the presence of children. While she could play her part when she needed to when social situations called for it she would just rather be comfortable. In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with that but she knew that here there was a different culture and people were much more courteous and "proper" when it came to pleasantries. She decided, however, that she deserved to kick her legs back and enjoy the fresh air in exchange for watching the kids.

Suddenly, the normal sounds of the forest were replaced with distant caws from the local group of crows that frequented this area. Looking in the direction of the thicket she couldn't help but think that something was off. Not many people ventured into the forest, well, no one other than herself, and she couldn't avoid the distressed calls from the corvids. Being familiar with living with crows back where she was from she could tell that something was in that forest. Something not to the birds' liking.

Yo and Hana continued to speak to each other, completely clueless and ignorant of the changes of the sound in the forest so Ashley gestured to them with her index finger to her lips to keep quiet. Hana caught on immediately and Yo followed suit, eyeing both of them. His confusion got the best of him, however.

"Ash, what's wrong?" He whispered.

"Quiet," Ashley commanded firmly. He frowned at her but she continued to slowly creep up from where she was sitting. Something to her just didn't feel right and she would rather be safe than sorry. She made her way over to the two with lilting steps and kept an ear out. She held her hand out in front of Yo before he could say another word in protest and looked towards the source of the caws. The birds soon flew over the grove they were in, cawing and flying in a frenzy.

Hana seemed to read the atmosphere and started to get worried and moved herself closer to Yo. Soon enough Ashley heard some scraping sounds followed by a distant, gruff voice of a man. He sounded belligerent. What he was saying, however, Ashley couldn't make out but from the looks on the kid's faces she could only tell it was not a good situation.

"Ash," Yo whispered and clutched his basket. He seemed less shaken up than Hana but it was clear that he was doing his best to keep quiet. Before she and the kids could turn to leave her steps were interrupted by a tiny muted scream coming from the same direction. Ashley froze for a moment. It sounded like a young woman. She looked back at the two kids, removed the basket that was in Yo's hands and firmly placed her hands on their shoulders.

"Go home. Quiet. Quick."

"But Ash you shouldn't stay her-"

"Yo," she said firmly. "Protekt Hana. Go get help. Now."

And so he and Hana left without their baskets, quietly and quickly towards the direction of town. Ashley watched them for a while before they disappeared into the long grass that led to the entrance of the towns bridge. Thinking of the situation, Ashley knew that she would probably encounter a ninja; she would have to face down someone stronger and faster than her. But she knew that hopefully Yo and Hana could reach the town quick enough to get the help of those other four ninja that came to Mao's house. She could only hope that that would buy her enough time and cause a distraction with whatever foul thing was happening deeper in the forest. Bracing herself she then started to quietly make her way to the source of the screaming the best she could while wearing her flip-flops. She wasn't one for fighting but she'd be damned if she allowed what she thought was happening to occur. Not today, not ever.

* * *

When Yamato and the others returned to Mao's residence in the morning they hadn't expected Ashley to be absent. She seemed eager to get some answers and they assumed she knew that she would have to leave with them, which she wasn't wrong about. Mao did let them know that Ashley had promised to watch Yo and another village girl a few days ago and while the four of them were itching to get back on the road back to the village, Mao thought that it would be a good opportunity for Ashley to spend her remaining moments with Yo, as he'd grown attached to her with her time being here.

While they were waiting around for the two to return to the house they were still looking for clues about the woman as well as the mysterious growths that had appeared. There just had to be a correlation. Yamato noticed that Ashley wasn't fighting-inclined or didn't look threatening and appeared more soft and shapely in ways that hinted to her living a more luxurious lifestyle. Although, when it comes to the ninja lifestyle one can never be too careful as looks can be deceiving. He found this whole situation to be suspicious, however, and continued to stay focused at his task on hand. Perhaps they would gather more information as they traveled back to the village with Ashley. The four of them were to keep their eyes out for anything out of place of course.

Mao mentioned that she arrived with nothing but the clothes on her back, which meant that the items that were waiting in the hall were items that Ashley accumulated while staying in her house. It was assumed that Mao had given her these items out of generosity, which was gratuitous of her. There in the pile of items was a large pack probably full of clothes and other essentials Ashley would need on her trip. There were also some new looking sandals similar to the ones Yo was wearing next to the bag. Yamato also noticed that there were a few more bags loaded with fruits and other foods which seemed to be over the top for such a short trip. He was amused at Mao's motherly nature toward her but was also taken aback by all the items she assumed Ashley would have to carry or was willing to carry. This meant that more weight would have to be distributed between all of them which he was dreading; he didn't want to be slowed down in any way.

Much to his further dismay, Mao walked out with another pack that seemed to be oddly shaped. He narrowed his eyes at the bag when she placed it next to the others. She took notice his look, straightened her back after setting the bag down and placed a hand on her hip as if in retort. "It's not that I don't trust you four but this will be for her own good." As the bag was settling on the floor the weight of it made it topple over and there was an obvious clank. Yamato and Naruto looked at her in disbelief. That certainly was a heavy bag from the sound of it.

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked flatly, confusion appearing on her features as she also eyed the obnoxious bag.

"Well, she's a young lady but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be able to defend herself now."

Naruto gave her an annoyed look. "Look, lady. We're here to do the protecting. You can count on that."

"What is in the bag, miss Mao?" Sai asked. They all looked at her now.

She smirked in response and simply crossed her arms. "Oh, just a few items I've used back in my old sparring days. No need to worry, honey."

Naruto let out a snort, "Don't tell me you used to be a ninja. What did you do? Use tea as a grenade?"

Sakura shoved his shoulder and glared at him. Yamato groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. As much as he loved working with these kids he also sometimes looked forward to finishing up missions which involved particular social formalities. Naruto was not so skilled with coercion and it was a domino effect; once he gets going then either Sakura or Sai make remarks and ultimately it's up to Yamato to level things out between all of them. He was really starting to miss his position guarding the Hokage.

"You'd be surprised. In my prime, young man, I was a spectacle," Mao looked back at him with a smirk. "Besides, Ash is used to carrying such items around now. She may not look it but she's a tough one."

"So let me get this straight," Yamato began, "She's out with children with weapons? We were told the village had been peaceful." He deadpanned. He was wondering how very trusting this woman was to accept a stranger in their house and then equip said stranger with weapons.

"You can never be too careful. You ninja should know this. Besides, she mainly carries smaller, concealable knives around for their trips through the forest in case they need to get through some thick shrubs. Nothing too serious." Mao ran her hand through her short, lilac hair.

"I'm assuming they spend a considerable amount of time out there," Sai piped up. "I understand she has artistic abilities as well. Did she happen to also whittle this with one of those knives you lent to her?" Sai then extended his hand out and in the center of his palm was a small wooden cat figure. Yamato immediately darted his gaze toward the peculiar item.

"Sai, where did you find this?" Yamato asked and took the figure from his hand. He noticed it was made from the same type of wood that was found in the forest. It felt smooth and looked very intricately detailed. Whomever carved this figurine must have had some master wood working skills but Mao or the others didn't seem to have access to such tools. On his time off from his shinobi duties he would sometimes carve and whittle wood himself, usually making small replicas of various architectural structures from around the world. It was a nice and meditative activity he enjoyed doing instead of using his own mokuton or wood release abilities and gave him a finer eye for detail. This further confirmed his suspicion of the situation regarding Ashley. While it is a possibility to possess such skills to carve something so fine he was looking over the rings which appeared around the wooden sculpture. They seemed to be at the center of the figurine, as if the cat itself sprouted from the ground as opposed to it being carved from a stump. Something was definitely wrong here and he had to find out.

Mao walked over and eyed the figurine as well. "I haven't seen this little thing before. It's a kitten, too. How darling."

"I found this on the windowsill in the hall next to-I'm assuming-Yosuke's room," Sai confirmed and nodded towards Yamato. "It seems to be a similar grain to that of the growths we found in the forest earlier."

Sakura tucked her pink bangs behind her ear to get a closer look as well, "It does seem to be the same color as well. Good looking out, Sai."

Naruto looked unamused and turned his nose up, "Yeah, so? Maybe they took a piece and carved into it. No big deal. Why are you guys so hung up on this dumb cat, anyway? It's like you guys haven't seen this sort of thing before." He grumbled and looked off to stare out the window in indifference.

"Mao, have you noticed anything strange since Ashley's appearance? Have you seen any growths form around your house?" Yamato inquired and narrowed his eyes at her. The more he thought about all these strange happenings, the more he was starting to piece things together.

"That girl," Mao began, "Well, I can say that I haven't really been tracking her every move. She does well to help out and she's eager to learn what she can. I haven't seen those saplings around here either but I'm not too sure."

"Does she ever stray from you two?"

She rubbed at her chin in contemplation. "There have been a few times where she would go out on her own, claiming she would need some time to herself. I assume she needed some reflection. She must be missing her home gravely. But she always returned in a reasonable amount of time." Yamato nodded at her. Mao looked at him with a disgruntled expression.

"I don't think she's a danger if that's what you people are insinuating. She may not like to cover up from time to time or wear a decent pair of sandals but she's not a bad girl. I can say that much."

"Hey," Naruto gestured towards the window, "there's a little girl running up to the house. Is she here for the runt?"

Everyone turned toward the window to see what Naruto had pointed out. As soon as the girl came running onto the steps Mao opened the door for her.

Huffing and gasping for air, Hana held onto Mao and grasped at her hands. "M-Mao!" She started shaking in fear. The four ninja perked up immediately.

"What's wrong, Hana? Speak, girl!" Mao prodded and wiped at Hana's face.

"Yo went back! He went back with that Ash lady!" She was trying her hardest to speak and catch her breath simultaneously. "Ashheardascreamintheforest-a-and-w-wenttocheckonitandYoranwithmetothebridg-"

"Try to slow down," Sakura interrupted. Hana nodded and gained her composure, sniffling and steadying her breathing.

"We were in the pear orchard next t-to the river. T-there was a scream from a girl in the forest and a bad man. Ash made me and Yo come here to g-get help but he went b-back and I'm so scared! I told him not to go back. I'm sorry Mao! He didn't want t-to listen to me," she cried again. Mao looked mortified but scooped up the terrified girl in a strong hug.

"Don't worry, Mao. We will leave at once," Yamato looked down at her as he stood. "Let's go!"

And so the four of them left the house in a blink.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey hey hey! New chapter here :o Before I forget I wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews, favs, follows, views! And also, I know some of you are eager for more. As **InARealPickle** had mentioned, yes, I did leave off in a bad spot. I felt bad, however, that the story was put off for a while so I posted a little something I managed to type up in a hurry. That being said, however, I am no professional at this and this is a hobby I enjoy doing in my spare time. I typically do not write much when I do but that is something I am working on. This chapter is a little longer to make up for that, hopefully. I have a good idea of the direction I want to take this little journey so expect updates every week-and-a-half or so.

Also, please try not to cringe so much in regards to this chapter. I cannot write fight scenes to save my life x) Otherwise, enjoy!

I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When Ashley quietly snuck up on the scene before her she was struck with a flurry of emotions. On one hand, she was livid and on the other, she was absolutely terrified. Her throat became dry as she tried to swallow back her tension. Her blood was going cold.

There before her eyes she saw a rather tall, unkempt man clad in worn armors and ragged clothing bending over a fallen tree, seemingly preoccupied with tying something-or rather, Ashley assumed, someone-up with a thick braided rope. She heard the sound of squealing and rustling of leaves as the figure started thrashing about, attempting to free herself from the man's binds.

"Hold still, ya little bitch!" This time the screams were muffled as if the man's hand was holding the victims mouth. More kicking and thrashing could be heard.

Holding onto the tree trunk in front of her, Ashley tightened her grip. As her brows furrowed her breath started hitching and she started shaking. She didn't have a weapon on her since she lent her knife to Yo for his herb picking. All she had were her flip-flops. Hardly a weapon of any sort.

' _There's no time to be freezing up now. Think. Think!'_

She noticed that the man's back was to her which would be a prime opportunity for a sneak attack. Having no other option she stretched her hand out to her side. She concentrated her energy into the palm of her hand again and luckily, roots started forming from inside her palm. She was thankful that while the wood was slowly shaping in her hand that not much noise could be heard. Nothing audible to the grizzly man yards away anyway.

Growing impatient with more sounds of muffled screeching from the girl, Ashley started focusing more of her energy into shaping a long knife-like structure in her hand. With a little more sculpting from her other hand she finally formed a long wooden blade. She thumbed the outer part of the knife to give it a sharper edge as well. Taking one more long, deep breath she knew she was ready to finally pounce into action.

She proceeded to quietly remove her flip-flops to avoid more noise before she decided to sneak forward. With lithe steps toward the perpetrator she shifted the knife in her right hand and held her breath. Her eyes were alert, her heart rate was slower and her nostrils were flared. Silent rage and anticipation were growing within her. The hunter becomes the hunted.

Finally close enough to gauge a sensible opportunity to strike, Ashley lunged forward with a growl. As she was racing ahead she saw the man's head turn towards her. A smirk quickly formed on his surly features. Just as she was ready to lunge on the man she felt herself being knocked over with a whooping blow. Falling over to the side like a ragdoll, Ashley felt her chest tighten as she was struggling to compose her breathing. The wind had been knocked out of her.

"Well, what do we have here?" Ashley looked up to see another man in similar attire to the other man she was hoping to attack. She quickly darted her eyes to see the girl that was kidnapped and found that there was no one to be seen. There was no damsel in distress. Ashley's eyes widened in disbelief. How could this be possible? She could've sworn she heard another person there. Then she realized that she was in fact, in this new upside-down world where magic existed. She had been reeled in, snared in a trap. She felt so stupid for falling for it. The man from before got up and started making his way toward her slowly with a crooked smile and ill-intent glaring in his eyes.

She began to kick her feet into the ground to try and back away but she was immediately stopped by the lackey that tackled her to the ground. He moved so quickly behind her. She severely underestimated these ninja. "Where do you think you're going, hmm? You think you can just try and attack us and just escape so easily? Don't think so, princess." He gripped hard on her shoulder, which caused her to wince out in pain. In that moment she was at a loss for words, paralyzed with fear.

"Dumb bitch walked right into our trap, didn't she?" The other man was now in her face. She didn't entirely understand the words coming from either of them but she can only guess that she definitely was not in a great situation. She tried to avert her gaze and struggled to move her shoulders out of the other man's grip but much to her displeasure she was unsuccessful. She was weak in comparison to their strength. The man cupped his hand over her chin and managed to force her to face him. She scowled and narrowed her eyes, refusing to yield so easily. "You see, we were waiting for a sucker like you to come along and make off with some cash. I wouldn't suppose you would be so generous?"

She then felt the man behind her snake his hands further down her body. She shivered in disgust and tried to shake him off. **"Fuck off."** She growled and her voice was shaky. As his hands moved down just right over her bottom he started to slither into her back pockets with swift movements, all the while sneaking in some greedy touches.

"What are you saying? You a foreigner?" The man in front posed the question as more of a statement. His eyes narrowed at her while the other man continued his violating touches to her front. He started to reach into her front pockets greedily, hoping to find a reward. When he was done with his searching he placed one of his hands over her thigh, oh so close to her center. Ashley growled again, her rage continuing to build more and more. She looked off to the side to see the wooden knife she carved before her attempted assault. What was she thinking, being so bold in an outnumbered fight? Her attempt at being helpful and heroic flew right out the fucking window.

"She's empty. What now?"

"Well," the man in front began again, "She's useless to us now. What a waste." He then looked into her eyes and moved his gaze down to her lips. Ashley shuddered. "I guess we can have a little fun before tossing her. What do you think?" His lips turned upward into a ghastly smirk. Ashley growled again at the word "fun". She could only imagine what they had in mind. It wasn't going to happen. It couldn't.

The man behind her then hummed in amusement and moved even closer to her. So close she could feel his breath on her ear. Her nostrils were filled with his stagnant scent. He smelled horrible. "That should be enough compensation."

As his hand started to snake towards her middle again she coiled her head into her shoulders and then rammed her head back into his nose. When he retreated his grip to his now stinging face she took the opportunity to launch forward with the same attack to the man in front but instead with her forehead. While they were preoccupied with tending to their pain she took the opportunity and jumped up and started back to where she came from. She was stopped prematurely, however, when one of them jumped on her from behind and clocked her upside her head. She immediately fell to the ground, her knees painfully skidding on some loose rocks and sharp twigs. Her face wasn't better off either, as her cheek landed on some sharp rocks as well.

The other man came over to her cursing and kicked her in her side. She was grasping for air yet again, wheezing. Having no time to react she was apprehended once again, but this time they pinned her arms firmly and uncomfortably behind her back. She felt so helpless, so powerless. She felt weak to the point where she was seeing stars, her vision coming and going and her head hurt. Her eyes stung with tears forming in the ducts. She felt like crying but she couldn't allow herself to be that weak in front of monsters. She knew, however, that help was on its way. She decided to not fight as much then, to save herself from relentless pain or even worse.

"Fuckin' cunt. You're not getting away that easily," one of them said. The man that kicked her now started to fish around in his pockets for something. Ashley shut her eyes then, bathing in the irony. She was now the one she tried to help. She was now the helpless victim in a hopeless circumstance. _'Please, hurry.'_ She hoped for someone to save her now. She hoped for something to happen.

"Ash!" That was Yo.

She opened her eyes and gawked at his presence. Why did he come back? Why was he alone? He needed to get out of there. The men perked up at his presence. Yo was holding the knife the had had before, and firmly gripped it out in front of him as if it was a sword.

"Ghet out, Y-Yo. Go!" Ashley choked on her words and tried to shake off the man on top of her. No budge.

"Let her go!"

"Hah! What, is this a joke?" The ring-leader piped up and then turned towards the boy, finally fishing out a tactical knife from his pocket. "Are you trying to die today, kid? How fucking stupid are you?" As he started walking towards Yo, Ashley wriggled violently and with enough push she managed to shake off the man from on top of her. Her attempts at walking, however, were soon halted as the other man kicked her down again. She grunted in pain, unable to make any auditory sound from her discomfort. She had trouble looking through her disheveled hair, now caked in dry blood from her previous scratch from being tackled earlier.

"You take care of her. I'll deal with the brat." As the lackey was busy restraining Ashley the other man started a quick pace toward Yo. His posture radiated annoyance.

"You better let her go or else!" Yo shook with anger.

"Run, Yo!"

"I'm not leaving you here, Ash!" And then Yo sprinted forward as fast as his tiny legs could take him. In those few seconds Ashley saw the man ready his blade to strike at Yo. His movements were swift, tactile and ambitious. Her eyes widened. This macabre scene before her made her stomach ache and her heart drop. She couldn't let this happen to Yo. A child. Her friend.

No longer concerned with the man on top of her trying to force his weight upon her, Ashley swiftly extended her arm out from underneath her and aimed at the man running towards Yo. As she did this she concentrated all of her energy, all of her being into her power. Sharp redwood spikes formed from the ground from where she lied and made their way to the man, successfully spearing his calve.

Taken back by surprise, the man that was trying to restrain her suddenly halted his actions and lifted his weight from her back. She took this as an opportunity to shove him off with her other hand and limp toward Yo, whom was also petrified in his place. The man before him screamed in agony as blood was gushing from his wound where the spear-like stump impaled him.

"You bitch! Get back here!" The man behind her snarled out, angrier than before. He quickly grabbed at Ashley's shoulder and took a blade of his own out. In provocation, she tensed up and formed sharper, smaller wooden spikes where his hand grabbed at her on her shoulder. Before the spikes entered through his hand he took notice of this and jumped back from her, holding his blade out in front of him.

In blinding rage, Ashley started limping towards him with intent to harm. She was no longer afraid; she knew she had the power now if she was quicker. The man glanced back at his wailing comrade. He narrowed his eyes back at Ashley and gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, the man started making some hand signs, Ashley knew from talking with Yo days before that this was how these ninja prepared their special attacks. She tensed herself and backed up in Yo's direction. Yo, feeling a little more frightened, quickly made his way over to Ashley before the man finished his signing. "Clone Jutsu!" The man called. Ashley was caught off guard as the man suddenly made copies of himself. There were more than five surrounding the two now, which made Ashley falter.

Yo started looking at each of them. Ashley wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for. Perhaps he was just as scared as she was. She darted her eyes around at each of them, studying them closely, hoping that if she hit one that that would be enough to dispel this ridiculous fighting technique. Yo tugged at her shirt and as he was lifting his hand to point at a clone, Ashley started focusing her energy around them. The clones shifted closer and closer but Ashley kept her trust in Yo.

"That one!" Yo pointed at a clone off to their right. Ashley quickly formed more growths to attack. He was hit, which caused the other clones to disappear, much to Ashley and Yo's approval. When they looked back to the man, however, he disappeared and in his place was a tree stump. Ashley gawked and Yo's voice hitched, "H-he made a substitution!" Where was he then? Just as Ashley turned her head to the side again she heard a sharp noise behind her. She grasped onto Yo and quickly turned in that direction to see him coming at her from above, knife in hand. She held her breath and pushed Yo away from her while lifting an arm up and growing more redwood from her forearm in hopes to block his blow.

Immediately, however, the man was knocked to the side with a completely different formation of darker wood. This did not come from her. Turning her gaze, she saw the four ninja from before. Their leader, Yamato, was the one who had formed this new growth. It was as strong as he was, planted firmly in place, holding the rogue ninja on the ground. Ashley's eyes widened in surprise as she eyed him and time seemed to pass slowly. He looked over at her through the corner of his eye with an unfamiliar expression which made her avert her eyes from him immediately. They caught her in her untold lie. She was done now. She knew she was in trouble. Yamato and the others then continued where Ashley left off and restrained the two men.

Accepting her fate and having all of her previous anxiety and adrenaline fade from her body, Ashley slowly let herself down to sit. Her knees felt wobblier and her head started hurting even more than before. As she sat there she felt Yo at her side, holding onto her arm lightly. She looked down at him in slight disapproval. He may have made it out unharmed but she wanted him to know that when he ran back to her that it was a stupid thing to do. He looked back up at her and frowned. How could she stay upset at such a cute face? She sighed and ruffled his hair and hugged him close to her side.

Sakura soon walked over to them and crouched in front of Ashley. She gave a sympathetic smile and held out her hand. "Seems like you got a little scraped up there. Let me help." Ashley looked into her green eyes and slowly nodded, not sure what she was going to do next. _'Put me out of my misery.'_ Nah. Sakura's offer seemed genuine. "Hold still, okay?" Ashley did as she was requested and felt Sakura ghost her hand over Ashley's face. There seemed to be a blue light emitting from her palm which surprised Ashley a little. The tingling sensation of her healing force soon started repairing her cuts and bruises. Sakura lightly chuckled at Ashley's awe-struck expression. Soon enough her cuts and scrapes closed up a little and her headache lessened. She didn't feel like a million bucks but she was definitely in a much better state. "Feel a little better?"

Ashley nodded again and offered an apologetic smile. She felt awkward now. Exposed. And she couldn't explain herself, no matter how much she wanted to. She knew that Sakura was being courteous to her and that she was to remain professional and poised. As Sakura then started to look over Yo, Ashley turned to look in Yamato's direction. He seemed to have formed some make-shift sturdy, wooden binds that went around the two rogues. Sai and Naruto were helping him hold them down as he used his hands to form restraints around the two invalids. While Ashley felt a pang a guilt in her chest for her trying covering up her secret she also couldn't help but look at Yamato's actions in wonder. He was limber and powerful. The wooden creations he made were refined and strong. She wondered how long it must have taken him to perfect his skills.

"You know," Sakura began, "I think it's pretty neat that you and Captain Yamato share the same wooden style technique. It's very rare." Ashley's gaze at Yamato was unwavering as she commented on her ability. It was only until Yamato looked in her direction that Ashley turned back at Sakura. She feigned her embarrassment with a masked look of confusion at Sakura. She knew that people held different abilities, as Yo informed her earlier, but could it really be that rare? Surely not one person in this world is so unique. She ignored her urges to ask further questions as her fatigue got the best of her. She didn't feel like speaking at the moment, especially in their foreign language. All she wanted to do was bathe sleep. Scrub away and sleep away all the grossness of the day.

"You really did a number on those guys, eh? Serves them right for preying on innocent people after the war." Naruto walked up and smiled at Ashley. She was thankful for his genuine intrigue. She also took into consideration his comment about the war. Even if nations were at peace for now it still didn't stop a few baddies from taking advantage of people at times when villages were most vulnerable. "What were you doing here though? Didn't she tell you to go back home to your granny?" Naruto instigated. Yo puffed up and flared his nostrils.

"I was helping!" Ashley thought to herself then. She did wonder how Yo knew about how to spot the clones. She supposed she had to ask him about it later.

"You idiot! You both could've gotten yourselves killed. And then we'd have to answer old tea lady and tell her that her grandson perished because he didn't avoid danger!" Ashley cringed at Naruto's booming voice and her stomach started to churn in response. Although he did have a point, his brashness wasn't helping the returning pain in her head. Sakura started chiming in and arguing with Naruto.

Ashley noticed Sai and Yamato approach them with the two captured men. "Sakura, you take the two back to Mao's. We'll turn these criminals in to the Daimyo." Ashley could tell that Yamato's tone hinted at something to Sakura. She nodded back at him. As Yamato started making his way past he did not attempt to look Ashley in the eyes. This irked her a little. She knew she shouldn't have put herself in danger and while, yes, she did hide her ability from them, she didn't see an excuse for him to be so standoffish. She mentally rolled her eyes.

When Naruto and Sai helped to pick the two men up while they were walking behind Yamato, Ashley looked at them in disgust. She caught the look of one of the men that she impaled earlier. His mouth was bound with a wooden rope, as was the rest of his body. She smiled up at him, lifted up her hand and flipped him the finger. He growled at her in response.

"Ash! That's vulgar," Yo scolded. "But I won't tell Gramao. Don't worry." After all she's been through today that didn't seem like a huge threat to Ashley in the least. She let out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding in.

"Alright. Are you okay to walk? Do you need help?" Sakura turned to Ashley and extended her hand out to her. She gladly took it and with ease, Sakura lifted her up. Leaning on Sakura for support and having Yo at her side holding her hand, Ashley eagerly started at a reasonable pace back. Her gait was not as bad as she expected.

* * *

Upon returning to the home Sakura made sure to inform Mao what had happened in the forest. She was visually upset, especially at Yo, whom she reprimanded and scolded without further thought of the matter. He sulked as expected but perked right up when he had heard that Hana made it back to her home safely. Once Yamato and the boys returned from apprehending the two men and turning them in to the local authority, they went over every detail of the attack with Mao, whom was surprised to hear about Ashley's abilities. She was, as expected, chastised by Mao and was told "It isn't proper for a lady to keep secrets from her friends". Ashley expected her as well as everyone else to be surprised but she supposed that it is common for people to have special abilities or powers in this world and such a thought could be easily brushed off.

Both Ashley and Yo were questioned about the incident for documentation that would be needed for presentation to the Daimyo. It was hard for Ashley to put into words every detail since she lacked the vocabulary for it but they seemed to get the gist of what went on. She especially found it hard to describe the part where she was being felt up and the suggestion was almost all too much for anyone in the room to hear. Naruto made a point to flip out and under his breath muttered some sort of curse, Ashley knew. Once they had gotten past all the awkwardness, much to Ashley's relief, they had decided to stay one more night in the village to give her more time to bounce back from being shaken up. Yamato asked Sakura to stay behind to keep an eye on Ashley if any other "health issue" needed to be tended to, although Ashley knew that his true intention for her staying with them in the house was to watch her. Closely. Sakura obliged happily, whispering to Ashley that it would be a good opportunity to "get time away from the boys".

Of course, after the three left Mao looked over Ashley and tended to her. She helped prepare a bath and brought out some healing ointments she obtained from the bathroom cupboard. Ashley, although feeling bad that Yo had gotten in trouble, didn't feel bad about taking the opportunity to clean herself.

Now that she was alone in the bathroom she began undressing and setting her clothes to her side. She looked down at her feet and frowned, realizing that she left her flip-flops out in the forest. She'd have to return for them later before she left with the four. As she moved closer to the tub she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She frowned again. She looked like a hot mess, for sure. Hair sticking to her head with clots of blood and slight bruising on her cheek and her sides from when she was kicked. ' _Lovely_ '. She supposed she could've looked worse, considering the circumstances. Losing a tooth or two would've been a travesty. She had to thank Sakura later for her help healing her as well.

When she sank into the tub she began working away and scrubbing all of the grittiness of her body and mind. She sighed as she scrubbed at her skin and softly groaned when she worked at the bruises on her knees. As her self-ministration was at an end she simply laid back and sunk even further into the tub, submerging her nose underneath. She let out a breath through her nose which cause the water to bubble around her face. She shifted herself one last time to sit upright and rested her head on a towel Mao placed at the edge of the tub and relaxed.

" **God dammit."**

What was happening? What was she going to do? She started thinking about all the events that transpired and lead up to this very moment. Why was this happening to her? It seemed as though having these new powers was a curse. Sure, it was exciting and new-something she never dreamed of in her prior world. But it also brought trouble. She was grateful no one truly had gotten hurt today, save the two rogue shinobi that attacked her, and she let out a sigh to that fact.

She did, however, think back to when Yamato looked at her when he discovered Yo and herself-when he had saved them with his own "tree-bending" power. She had mixed feelings, however. She thought that it was exciting knowing someone who had similar powers because it meant that perhaps he could help her with her ability. The look he gave her though made her want to grab him by his face-plate and shake his head around in frustration. His comrades at least acknowledge her with cordiality. Why couldn't he do the same? Did she offend him with her ability? Did she break any laws by protecting herself in such a manner?

But then again, why should she care of his opinion? Or anyone else's for that matter. She did what she had to do and did what she thought was the right thing to do. By all accounts, her logic was correct. She leaned her head back even further and massaged at her temples and the bridge of her nose. Taking one step at a time would be wise in this situation and she'd rather not have to do much more thinking for the night.

She slowly got up, drained the now luke-warm water from the tub, dried off and dressed in some fresh clothes Mao had unpacked for her from one of her bags. She felt warmer and more light-hearted now that she was cleaned and she especially enjoyed the lavender-scented shampoo that now filled her nostrils. She was now ready to face what was to come. But first she knew she had to entertain a much needy Yo in the living room whom was probably giving Sakura a hard time.

* * *

After Sai and Naruto finished checking in to their rooms after an early dinner for the night Yamato did so himself. Bowing his thanks to the attendant, he started making his way to his room up the flight of stairs. Once he found his room-which happened to be the same room he's been staying in the past few nights during their investigation-he flipped on the light switch and made his way over to the nightstand where he placed his small pack full of clothes and other gear. He shuffled through his bag for a new set of clothes to sleep in and fished them out with ease. Before heading to the bathroom to wash off he placed his face-plate forehead protector on the nightstand next to the small lamp and alarm clock.

He made his way into the bathroom and looked at his reflection in mirror for a moment after switching the light on. Shortly after filling the tub full of hot water Yamato began to strip and fold his dirty clothes before submerging himself in the bath and washing his body. While subconsciously scrubbing at his skin he was lost in thought at what happened earlier in the day. In particular, he couldn't shake knowing that Ashley had mokuton abilities as well.

When they found her and Yosuke in the clearing, fighting off the rogues, he hesitated for a moment. He certainly had his suspicions before finding this information out but he couldn't help but wonder what it meant. Could she be lying about her predicament? As far as he knew, there were only a few people in this world with this ability and it's usually a trait that's inherited through genetics-or by more iniquitous means which was how he inherited his own wood-release abilities. He placed a clean, warmly soaked wash cloth over his face and sighed, trying to still his nerves.

The way in which she created her mokuton amazed him. She didn't use any hand seals to cast but instead it just happened so casually. Granted, her skill was rather weak but if she could be telling the truth about her arrival here then the amount of time she had to obtain her current skill level was notable. He could also casually create smaller wooden things without using hand seals himself but that took a great deal of time to master. With the rate she was progressing, however, he thought that eventually, if trained enough, her ability could be tremendously useful and powerful. Perhaps it could even rival that of the First Hokage whom was said to be a legend with his mokuton abilities. Yamato frowned then. Could she even be related to the First Hokage?

He had to admit to himself that this terrified him. He also shared some of the First's DNA-albeit through involuntary experimentation-and feared what this could mean. Although deep down it felt wrong, he decided that distancing himself from her would be the best option for now so that there wouldn't be any mishaps. No high hopes this time.

After he was done with his relentless overthinking on the situation, he decided to finally get up to dry himself off and drain the soapy water from the tub. He dressed in his night clothes and proceeded to brush his teeth before messily drying his brown locks with another towel. Once shutting off the lights in the room and tucking himself in to lie down he made himself comfortable as he shifted on his side and hugged his pillow underneath his head. He extended his arm out and created an extension out of wood from his index finger to click the button on the lamp, which powered off the light. Now laying in silence in the large, cold bed he closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

He did not sleep well that night.


End file.
